Stay vigilantYour perilous journey will be made easier by staying vigilant at all times - but many sneaky subtle things occur in fights that require special attention. Watch carefully in battles as most foes have a 'tell': some gesture they make before attacking that helpfully signals which manoeuvre they are about to initiate or which brother will be on the receiving end of their knuckle sandwich. Keep eyes peeled for such giveawayish behaviour, then make counter smacks or dodges accordingly. In this way much suffering can be avoided and extra thumps given even though it is not your turn.

BushwhackedWhile adventuring, it is madness to run into enemies willy nilly! Instead, attack as you make contact and when battle begins the first blow will be yours. This initial clout will deal damage to all enemies, giving a helpful headstart; but for extra snazzy pugilistic prowess, first wallops should be tailored to the type of enemy encountered. To reduce ouching in the rump never, ever jump on spiked foes (always start on them with hammerish thwacks instead) or when encountering plant life with Bowser (such as Treevils or Flifits) get things rolling with a flaming hot welcome to battle and the poor globins with a critical weakness to fire won't stand a chance.

The way of the warriorGlobins love tidiness! Get Bowser into the neatish habit of vacuuming whenever the Vacuum Block flashes as hoovering the stage may uncover Blitties, make Bowser inhale enemies for Mario and Luigi to deal with or nab tasty items. Some enemies may be weaker once vacuumed or are easier to deal with once denied their posse of smallish friends. Globins also love barbecues and Bowser's flame attack can be very useful when taking on a group – sometimes using this will cause an enemy to burn meaning that they cannot take their turn to attack, giving you more of a chance to take them out.

Credit where it is dueAfter many battles your heroes will level up and you will gain the chance to assign a bonus to one of their statistics. There should be no hurrying! Much can be gained from watching the rolling bonus values then carefully timing the buttonish press of acceptance with the higher numbers. However, putting all bonuses onto one stat will make higher numbers vanish from that stat's rolling bonus values. It is best then to assign congratulatory bonus points into a different globin– only once a balance is met will higher numbers come out to play again.

The signs of successOh to have a glossy, manly, hairy upper lip like the brothers, or elegant yet deadly horns like the turtle tub of grumpiness! While Power and Defense are important, shrewd globins will add bonuses to the Stache or Horns stat when levelling up as it increases the chances of a 'Lucky' hit in battles or a win on the scratchy Bonus Cards at shops.

Equip to be squareBe the best you can be: make sure that gear slots are crammed full of only the most delectable accessories at all times and that money is regularly spent to replenish useful items from shops. Better safe than sorry!

Practice makes perfectWhy glumly globin on with 'Okay' and 'Good' scores for Special Attacks when there is a practice mode? Take breaks from the busy schedule of buffeting baddies to perfect the timing of these super damaging moves and reap the rewards when things get toughish and every point counts.

Full of BeansMario and Luigi's drill attack can be used to dig for beans that show as sparklish lights in Bowser's tissues or as small X marks on the ground outside. Beans come in three varieties (Heart, Power and Special) and can be fed to either Mario, Luigi or Bowser from the Items Menu for a +1 boost to the stat the bean is named after.

Hunting high and lowMushroom Balls, Mushroom Balls, find them and the spoils are yours! When searching for these promotional treasures at the Toad Town mall know this globins: they may be hidden underground or stashed away inside invisible blocks above. Jump and drill anywhere that a questionish mark appears above Mario's head and great riches will be yours in the blink of an eye.

A return to formSome areas of Bowser's body can only be accessed under special circumstances - should you desire to revisit these areas once they have been completed you must take Bowser back to the original place where they were entered. To enter Flab Zone, enter the VIP room of Bowser's Castle and munch away at the lardish dishes there, for the Pump Works pop back to glub upon the Sea Pipe Statue, Energy Hold re-entry requires the Boo-Ray Machine in the Tower of Yikk and to return to the Airway head to Peach's Castle to inhale the frozen air from Blizzard Midbus. Good luck my globins!